Johnson: Flames have reached a dangerous time within a delicate moment

GEORGE JOHNSON, Calgary Herald01.06.2014

Calgary’s Mikael Backlund tries to contain Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis in front of goaltender Reto Berra during last Friday’s game. The Flames have become known for hard work, but it’s not enough to change their fate near the bottom of the NHL standings at the halfway point of the campaign.

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DENVER — They already lie 15 points adrift of a — now, now, stifle any and all giggles, please — playoff spot. Only Tim Hortons can rival ’em for doughnuts since Christmas. The franchise nadir of 67 points over a full 82-start campaign suffered 16 winters ago now finds itself very much under threat.

Landing in one snowswept, bitterly-cold city from another snowswept, bitterly-cold city Sunday afternoon, the found themselves languishing 29th in offence and 26th in defence on the National Hockey league grid.

They’ve lost four straight, all on home ice, three by shutout, and are colder’n a mother-in-law’s kiss in front of the goal.

And yet taken as a 41-game block, so far, halfway through the long-anticipated, now-sobering “rebuild” season, the Calgary Flames, given everyone’s subterranean expectations, could actually be considered something of a mildly pleasant surprise.

So far.

Nothing to pop a bottle of vintage Moet Chandon over certainly. Or enough to make anyone actually buy into that noisy PR rhetoric about “fast-tracking” the competitive progression.

But hey, could be worse. Could be Edmonton.

As the second half of the season opens Monday night at the Pepsi Center against Patrick Roy’s prodigious, precocious Colorado Avalanche, though, these against-all-odds Flames appear to have reached an exceedingly dangerous time within a uniquely delicate moment: Do they continue to push gallantly on through mid-April in spite of their obvious shortcomings and mounting disappointments, or are they simply worn away by reality and give in to the inevitable?

An unceasing commitment to putting forth close-to-maximum effort has been their singular trump card, their hallmark, throughout a modest 34-point first half. They’ve been undermanned by injury on many nights, overmatched in sparkle on many, many more, but have for the most part remained competitive, stayed resilient, more often than anyone could’ve imagined.

For that, Bob Hartley and his coaching staff, as well as the professionalism of most of the players on hand, must be commended.

If that dogged push begins to tail off, though, if the night-to-night desire and motivation dwindles, even ever-so-slightly (and we’ve seen warning signs lat ely), if the losing takes its toll and the increasingly helplessness of the situation grips them, if the return for effort doesn’t seem worth the bother, then this has the potential get very ugly very quickly.

This is a group, after all, working at a great height without a net.

“No, no, that won’t slide,” coach Bob (The Rebuilder) Hartley vowed the other day. “I can make that promise to you and to our fans. Because that’s the culture we want to create.

“We want to teach the Brodies, the Monahans, the Boumas, the way to be a good pro. Whatever the score is, we’re gonna keep competing. It’s funny you’re asking me about this, because that was my topic this morning at my team meeting. Basically, for the last month and a half, two months, we’ve been in every game, that’s what we want to build.”

Individually through the first half, the now-injured Kris Russell proved to be a revelation, uber-competitive for a small player, willing and able to soak up additional minutes will the loss of key defencemen, an absolute steal for a fifth-round pick and arguably the club’s MVP so far. Rookie Sean Monahan opened brightly, but the attrition of an NHL season has begun to take its toll, as expected. The mercurial Jiri Hudler has 33 points and is a plus player.

Mostly, though, this team’s identity has been forged in the collective.

With the firing of Jay Feaster, and the unruly-coiffed Brian Burke acting as “interim” general manager, maybe we’ll see a new GM in place sometime between now and mid-April, or maybe we won’t. Maybe, as some fear, that person will be a kind of Charlie McCarthy to Burke’s Edgar Bergen or maybe Burke will decide that, after an exhaustive analysis of all plausible candidates, turns out the best man for the job is . . . timpani roll, please . . . Brian Burke! Despite his continual protestations to the contrary.

Whether or not there is a major change within the managerial structure, there are sure to be alterations within the lineup itself. Vets such as Lee Stempniak, Michael Cammalleri, Matt Stajan and Mikael Backlund, to list but a few, are bound to hear their names being bandied vigorously about as the trade deadline grows nearer because Burke, by his own admission an impatient sort, has made no bones about the need to get bigger and meaner (Although lacking the requisite amount of skill, a blockade of muscle to act as insulation means little).

As the second half opens Monday night at the Pepsi Center, the Calgary Flames, now as vulnerable as we’ve seen them this season, have reached an exceedingly dangerous time within a uniquely delicate moment:

Do they continue to push gallantly on through mid-April in spite of their obvious shortcomings and mounting disappointments, or are they simply worn away by reality and give in to the inevitable?

They find themselves teetering on a tightrope, working without a net.

“The commitment to this organization, to our fans, the commitment to winning hockey games, to battling in every game,” replies Hartley flatly by way of rebuttal, “is non-negotiable.

“I will never allow a losers’ mentality to creep into our locker-room.”

Given the circumstances, that pledge will be put increasingly to the test between now and the finish line.

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Johnson: Flames have reached a dangerous time within a delicate moment

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